Jan 14, 2009 11:30 am US/Pacific
Gitmo Detainee Captured At 14 Ordered Released
WASHINGTON (AP) ―
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A U.S. judge has ordered that the military release a Guantanamo Bay detainee who was captured when he was 14, the Associated Press reported Monday. (File)
Brennan Linsley/AP
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the military to release one of its first Guantanamo Bay detainees, a 21-year-old man who has been detained and accused of being a terrorist since he was 14.
Mohammed el Gharani, who is of Chadian nationality but had lived in Saudi Arabia, should be released from the U.S. prison in Cuba "forthwith," U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said in a ruling from the bench.
The military had accused el Gharani of being part of al-Qaida, working for the Taliban and fighting American forces in Afghanistan. However, Leon said those accusations were based on testimony from other Guantanamo Bay detainees, which he found unreliable.
El Gharani listened to the ruling by telephone from Cuba but did not react.
He could be on his way home to his family in a few weeks, lawyer Zackary Katznelson said. "Judge Leon did justice today."
The government can appeal Leon's decision.
"We're disappointed by the ruling and will consider our options," Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said.
The news comes on the heels of a statement by President-Elect Barack Obama that he plans to close the American military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. On the seventh anniversary of the prison, Obama said hundreds of detainees have been held for years without trial or even being charged with a crime and emphasized his plans to close the base.
Obama, who has been receiving daily national security briefings since his election in November, acknowledged that his campaign pledge to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay will be more of a challenge than he anticipated. Many of those held at the military site are suspected terrorists or potential witnesses in cases against them.
"It is more difficult than I think a lot of people realize - and we are going to get it done - but part of the challenge that you have is that you have a bunch of folks that have been detained, many of whom may be very dangerous who have not been put on trial or have not gone through some adjudication," he said.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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